Shalom, begorrah, have a green day
A loaf of Oroweat bread bought by Larry Molton of Castro Valley bore a sticker in the shape of a shamrock with the words, “Jewish Rye/ Happy St. Patrick’s Day/ Kosher (written in Hebrew)/ Pareve.”
Michael Rubin was eating breakfast on Monday, March 13, when he noticed the words on the back of his Cheerios box: “Made for Little Hands,” and wondered “if they’re served in the White House.” And Barbara Britt saw the bumper sticker at Rossmoor: “Pinocchio for President.”
Both men “inherited their power, money and most everything from their more famous fathers,” but Mike Lano is wondering which look-alike has the worse haircut: Raiders owner Marc Davis or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
More reports of music that turns its listeners/ players on:
For jazz pianist Mike Greensill, it’s Louis Armstrong’s a cappella introduction to “West End Blues”; Charlie Parker’s four-bar break in the Massey Hall Concert version of “A Night in Tunisia”; and all Mahler Symphonies, “especially the slow movements.”
For Ruth Schafran, it’s Elgar’s “Cello Concerto in E Minor,” “particularly when played by Jacqueline du Pré,” that “practically sends an erotic charge through me.” Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini” makes David Landis “want to immediately go out and hug my dogs — or my husband — maybe not in that order.” And for Robert Epstein, it’s Grace Slick singing “White Rabbit,” which he says is “not a good song to listen to driving. It’s overwhelming.”
The Salisbury Cathedral Choir, which sang the prerecorded music for the wildly popular “Forty Part Motet,” at a San Francisco Museum of Modern Art event that took place at Fort Mason Center last year, is coming to the Bay Area for live performances. The choir is scheduled to perform at Stanford Memorial Church on Friday, March 17, as well as Sunday, March 19, and Tuesday, March 21 (more information: http://salisbury.stanford. edu). There are also free shows scheduled for 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. March 26 at Grace Cathedral.
At the Curran Theatre, by the time “Eclipsed” closes on Sunday, more than 3,000 middle and high school students will have seen it for free. The run included two student-only matinees, on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14 and 15. Danny Glover attended Wednesday’s performance and led the postperformance dedication to real-life kidnapped girls. The theater’s sponsored ticket program allows corporations and businesses to underwrite the cost of the tickets. Among those who pitched in: the Pillsbury law firm, U.S. Bank, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co., Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Salesforce.
Helene Ettelson has for years been one of the kind souls knitting hats and other items for patients at the California Pacific Medical Center. In November, she decided to take on a new project. After learning that volunteers at the World War II Museum in New Orleans were knitting scarves for veterans around the country, Ettelson was so inspired that she founded the Patriotic Knitters of San Francisco. Ettelson makes kits that include materials and directions needed to make 7-by-50-inch scarves. Each knitter designates an honoree — a fallen veteran from any battle, from the Revolutionary War on; anyone who played a role in warfare, including the Navajo Code Talkers and Alan Turing; Army nurses, etc. The knitter prepares a card describing that person’s contribution (with first name only) and signs the card (with first name only). Ettelson tries to find “a battalion patch or regimental flag or something, just to enhance the card,” which is then attached to the scarf and mailed off to the New Orleans museum for distribution to veterans. “We don’t know where they end up or with whom,” Ettelson said.
She sent a selection of card reprints, including one referring to a fallen San Francisco police officer, Nick B., who had served as a Marine in the Gulf War and died later, on July 6, 2006. Another card honored the father of the knitter, who had survived Pearl Harbor and died in the Battle of Guadalcanal. If the knitter does not have an honoree in mind, Ettelson goes online, finds the name of a vet, and researches that person’s story.
Since November, Ettelson has sent about 100 scarves made by 40 knitters in her group.
Calling all women, a notice culled by Alice LaRocca from Nextdoor Noe Valley:
“Looking for volunteers to be our demo models for Brazilian Waxes (free). Looking for women in the community/neighborhood interested in getting a free brazilian wax done by someone in training. .... just needs 6 more practice Brazilians in our methods . ... Please only volunteer if you are truly okay with someone still learning.”
“Don’t let it get to you. At our ages, nothing we do is premature.” One gentleman of a certain age to another, overheard at Starbucks in Martinez by Richard Rasmussen